You are here

History
280H.001

This is a survey seminar that introduces students to key themes and literature of the Africa field from the precolonial to the postcolonial periods. Based on classic and newly published readings augmented by primary sources, the seminar explores a broad selection of topics including, but not limited to: sources and methods of historical research; precolonial state formation and African political systems; precolonial and colonial economies( labor, infrastructure, production, commercial networks and capitalism); religion (Islam, African Traditional Religions, and Christian missions); race and empire; colonial law and customary authority; Africa and the World Wars; colonial science, health and medicine; women, gender and sexuality; society, culture and social change; environmental landscapes ; decolonization, the cold war and end of empire; state, democracy and civil wars; Africa, globalization and neocolonialism.